The best baseball players born on Nov. 22

Who are the best players born on each day of the year? We have a list for every day on the calendar.

Here’s a subjective ranking of the top five for Nov. 22.

1) Dick Bartell (1907)
Between his first game (Oct. 2, 1927) and his last (May 24, 1946), Bartell made a pair of All-Star squads and amassed multiple appearances on Top 10 WAR lists -- for both offense and defense. He also led the National League in HBP five times, a stat that might not be a surprise when it comes to the fiery player nicknamed “Rowdy Richard.” In fact, his aggressiveness helped fuel the earliest days of the Giants-Dodgers rivalry when the clubs still called New York home. Bartell participated in three World Series, with his greatest success coming in the 1936 Fall Classic, during which he hit .381 against the eventual champion Yankees.

2) Lew Burdette (1926)
Burdette was a star for the Braves (in both Boston and Milwaukee) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1957 he led the Milwaukee club to its only World Series championship, earning the MVP Award in the process, and three years later threw a no-hitter against the Phillies. And although his resume also includes NL leads in ERA (2.70 in 1956), wins (21 in 1959) and complete games (18 in 1960), his most impressive performance might have come on May 26, 1959, when he threw a 13-inning shutout, earning the win over Harvey Haddix and Haddix’s near-perfect game.

3) Joe Nathan (1974)
Few closers were as dominant as Nathan from 2004-09, when he pitched to a 1.87 ERA, racked up 246 saves, made four All-Star teams, represented the U.S. in the inaugural World Baseball Classic (2006) and won a American League Relief Man of the Year Award (2009). He finished his 16-year career with 377 saves and a 2.87 ERA. Minnesota’s all-time saves leader (and among the Top 10 in history), Nathan is a member of the Twins Hall of Fame.

4) Greg Luzinski (1950)
The Phillies won their first World Series in 1980, and they might not have even gotten there if not for The Bull. Luzinski homered in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Astros -- the only long ball of the entire series -- and was responsible for the game-winning hit in Game 4. He would go on to win a pair of Edgar Martinez Awards (1981 and 1983), and prior to that was honored for his off-field work with the 1978 Roberto Clemente Award after purchasing seats for disadvantaged children.

5) Jay Payton (1972)
Drafted by the Mets in 1994, Payton made his debut for New York in 1998 and hit the unlikeliest of his 119 career homers for them on Oct. 22, 2000. In the ninth inning of Game 2 of the Subway Series, Payton went deep off Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time. It was only the second postseason dinger allowed by Rivera (following Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1997), and it would be the last.

Want to see more baseball birthdays for Nov. 22? Find the complete list on Baseball Reference.